Configuration

The service reads a JSON config file specified via --config flag or JEEVES_META_CONFIG environment variable.

Core Fields (MetaConfig)

Field	Type	Default	Description
`watcherUrl`	string (URL)	—	Watcher service base URL (required)
`gatewayUrl`	string (URL)	`http://127.0.0.1:18789`	OpenClaw gateway URL
`gatewayApiKey`	string	—	Gateway authentication key
`architectEvery`	integer	`10`	Run architect every N cycles per meta (min 1)
`depthWeight`	number	`0.5`	Exponent for depth weighting in staleness formula (min 0)
`maxArchive`	integer	`20`	Maximum archive snapshots per meta (min 1)
`maxLines`	integer	`500`	Max context lines in subprocess prompts (min 50)
`thinking`	string	`"low"`	Thinking level for spawned sessions
`skipUnchanged`	boolean	`true`	Skip candidates with no file changes
`metaProperty`	object	— (required)	Watcher metadata for live meta.json files. Avoid underscore-prefixed keys (e.g. `_meta`) — they may conflict with watcher reserved fields and break rendering.
`metaArchiveProperty`	object	— (required)	Watcher metadata for archive snapshots. Same underscore-prefix caveat as `metaProperty`.

Service Fields (extends MetaConfig)

Field	Type	Default	Description
`port`	integer	`1938`	HTTP listen port (min 1, max 65535)
`schedule`	string	`/30 * * *`	Cron expression for synthesis scheduling
`reportChannel`	string	—	Gateway channel name (e.g. `slack`). Legacy: also used as target if `reportTarget` is unset.
`reportTarget`	string	—	Channel/user ID to send progress messages to
`serverUrl`	string (URL)	`http://127.0.0.1:1934`	jeeves-server base URL for progress report links
`serverKey`	string	—	jeeves-server machine key seed for the resolve-path API (required from jeeves-server 3.15.0; see Progress Links). Redacted in `GET /config`.
`templates.phaseStart`	string	`:gear: ...`	Template for phase start progress reports
`templates.phaseEnd`	string	`:white_check_mark: ...`	Template for phase success progress reports
`templates.phaseError`	string	`:x: ...`	Template for phase failure progress reports
`watcherHealthIntervalMs`	integer	`60000`	Periodic watcher health check interval in ms (min 0). 0 = disabled.
`tier2ScanLimit`	integer	`50`	Max all-fresh candidates to scan per tick in Tier 2 invalidation (min 1)
`autoSeed`	array	`[]`	Auto-seed policy rules (see below). Rules evaluated in order; last match wins for steer/crossRefs.
`workspaceDir`	string	OS tmpdir + `/jeeves-meta`	Directory for synthesis staging files written by sub-agent sessions
`stagingRetries`	integer	`10`	Max retries when staging file is not yet visible after session completion (min 0)
`stagingRetryDelayMs`	integer	`250`	Delay between staging file retry attempts in ms (min 0)
`previewDeltaFilesCap`	integer	`50`	Maximum number of delta files included in `/preview` response (min 1)
`logging.level`	string	`"info"`	Log level (trace/debug/info/warn/error)
`logging.file`	string	—	Log file path

Auto-Seed Rules

Each rule in the autoSeed array has the shape:

Field	Type	Default	Description
`match`	string	—	Glob pattern matched against `watcher.walk()` results (required)
`steer`	string	—	Steering prompt written as `_steer` in seeded `meta.json`
`crossRefs`	string[]	—	Cross-ref owner paths written as `_crossRefs`
`parentDepth`	integer	`0`	Walk up this many extra parent levels from the matched file's directory

Hot-Reload

All config fields hot-reload without a service restart except these restart-required fields:

port — HTTP listen port
watcherUrl — watcher service URL
gatewayUrl — OpenClaw gateway URL
gatewayApiKey — gateway authentication key

When a restart-required field changes, the service logs a warning but the change does not take effect until restart. All other fields (including schedule, reportChannel, autoSeed, timeouts, metaProperty, logging.level, etc.) are applied immediately on config file save.

Environment Variables

Config values support ${VAR} substitution from environment variables. Example:

{
  "gatewayApiKey": "${OPENCLAW_API_KEY}",
  "serverKey": "${JEEVES_META_SERVER_KEY}"
}

Progress Links

Progress reports link each entity through jeeves-server's GET /api/resolve-path. From jeeves-server 3.15.0 that endpoint requires a key, so set serverKey to the seed of a machine key defined under keys in jeeves-server's config (e.g. keys.meta). The service derives the URL key from the seed and sends it as the k query parameter; the seed itself is never sent. Older servers ignore the parameter.

401/403 (key missing or rejected): the service logs one warning naming the cause and renders reports without links. It never substitutes the raw filesystem path: dirLink, metaLink, dirPath and metaPath are all empty in that case. The default templates guard each link with {{#if dirLink}} / {{#if metaLink}}; custom templates should do the same.
Network error or other HTTP error (e.g. 404, path outside every server root): the link falls back to the raw path, as before.

serverKey hot-reloads.

Prompt System

The service ships with built-in default architect and critic prompts. Prompts ship with the package and cannot be overridden via config.

All prompts (built-in and per-meta _architect/_critic) are compiled as Handlebars templates at synthesis time. Available variables include {{config.*}} (all config fields), {{scope.*}} (fileCount, deltaCount, childCount, crossRefCount), and {{meta.*}} (per-meta fields). Escape with \{{ for literal double-braces.

The architect prompt can write template expressions into its builder brief using escaped syntax (\{{config.maxLines}}). These pass through the architect compilation as literal {{...}} text and resolve when the builder prompt is compiled.